5 reasons why attending a tennis tournament live is better than watching it on TV

2. The atmosphere is incomparable

This is a bit of a no-brainer, really. It’s nice to plonk yourself on your couch and watch a match with all the comforts of your home at your disposal. But that’s got nothing on sitting amidst a vociferous group of supporters who passionately chant the players’ names at every changeover, and share your appreciation as well as disapproval of the peaks and troughs in the play.

Mayanti Langer with Ramkumar Ramanathan (second from left), the star who brought the house down

Matches involving local players, of course, are particularly electrifying. The Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Somdev Devvarman second round match was host to a robust and raucous atmosphere, with nearly every point prompting wild cheers (irrespective of who won it). Yuki Bhambri, Rohan Bopanna and even Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja managed to turn the stands into a carnival of sorts. For some reason you never really think of associating the word ‘carnival’ with the mostly straitjacketed sport of tennis, so the festive atmosphere was both a pleasant surprise and an indelible memory to take home from the event.